Maritime transport is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels and, as such, a natural target for those looking for cleaner alternatives. Making ships electric was a no-brainer, but there was a challenge—the same as the main challenge for electric cars. Range. The solution to the challenge has been relatively simple: bigger batteries. According to a recent report by market research firm IDTechEx, electric ships feature the biggest batteries out there, and they are only going to get bigger because range remains a top priority. For scale, IDTechEx offers the average size of an EV’s battery, which in the United States is 67 kWh. An electric bus in China has a battery of 210 kWh. And then there is the Ellen ferry in Denmark, which is powered by batteries with a total capacity of 4,300 kWh. The Ellen project took five years to complete and cost $25.2 million […]